Outokumpu, the global leader in sustainable stainless steel, has again been included in the Financial Times’ list of Europe’s Climate Leaders in 2024. Financial Times and research company Statista’s list recognizes European companies that are leading the way in emissions reduction as well as transparency and commitment to global climate-related initiatives.
The fourth edition of Europe’s Climate Leaders — compiled by the Financial Times in partnership with data provider Statista — shows that growing number of European companies are already making headway in cutting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Under the EU’s Green Deal, which aims to make Europe “the first climate-neutral continent” by 2050, companies must contend with carbon pricing, tougher sustainability targets, and broader reporting requirements.
The list focuses primarily on businesses that have achieved the greatest reduction in their Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions intensity over a five-year period (2017-2022). In addition, transparency on Scope 3 emissions and collaboration with sustainability assessors, such as CDP and the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), are considered.
“Outokumpu, being highly committed to science-based climate targets aligned with 1.5 ºC, accelerates the green transition with the lowest carbon footprint in the industry. Being acknowledged as one of the climate leaders in Europe shows our commitment and the long-term work in reporting and reducing our emission intensity throughout the value chain. We are on track with our climate targets – by the end of 2023, we improved our emission reduction by 27%, compared to 2016 baseline. This was achieved by increasing our recycling material content up to 95%, by using low-emission electricity and by operational changes. To further reduce our emissions, we made the first investments to biocoke production, built partnerships with suppliers on low-emission raw materials and started to explore carbon capture as a potential future technology. To reach the ambitious Net Zero targets, we will also need global pricing for carbon, green investments across public and private sector and demand for low-emission steel”, says Johann Steiner, Executive Vice President, Sustainability, People & Communications at Outokumpu.
Outokumpu is committed to reducing emission intensity from direct (Scope 1), indirect (Scope 2) and supply chain (Scope 3) by 42% by 2030 from a 2016 base year. In January, Outokumpu joined the Climate Leadership Coalition to drive change in global regulation mitigating climate change. In March, the company was ranked among the top 50 companies in the world by Corporate Knight’s list of Clean200 companies.
